Fence-making machine.



N 827,364. I PATENTBD JULY-31, 1906'. J. HARRIS.

FENCE MAKING MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED 0UT.16.1904.

'3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

THE NonRls PETERS co., WASHINBTON, n. c.

No- 827,864. v PATENTED JULY 31, 1906.

- J. HARRIS. I

FENCE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION TILED OUT-16. 1904.

a SHEETS-$113M z.

No. 827,364. v PATENTED JULY 31, 1906.

J. HARRIS.

FENCE MAKING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED OUT. 15. 1994. Y

3 SHEETBEHEET3.

; 1 v Q F E I a Witnesses Mania? THE mamas PETERS co-, yAsHmcmN. n. c

UNITED. STATES- PLFENT OFFICE.

JONATHAN HARRIS,- OF CLEVELAND, omo, ssicNoR, BY MEsNE ASSIGN- MENTS. TOTHE BUCKEYE FENcE MACHINE COMPANY. OF ASHTABULA,

OHlO, A CORPORATION. 4

'FENCE-MAKINGLMACHVINE'.

Patented July 31, 190

Anplication filed Octoberlfi. 1904. .Serial No. 228,526.

T at tu/wm it maywnccrn:

Be it known that I, JONATHAN HARRIS, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cleveland, county ofOuyahoga, State of Ohio,.have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Automatic Fence-Making Machinery, of which I herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description, suchas will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same. p

e The objects of the invention are to provide automatic mechanism forattaching wire 'staples'of the form described to the crossingpoints ofthe running and stay wires of a wire fence; and the invention consistsin the mechanism for feeding the running-wiresspaced, to the desiredheight of the fence and feeding the stay-wires at regular intervalstrans- 'versely across the running-wires 1n the-van ous guides for therunning and stay wires, in

the forming-dies in which the clamps are tightly secured to the wirecrossings, means for winding the extremities of the stay-wires about theouter 'running-wires, mechanism tions of the dies, means for crimpingthe run- Ding-wires as soon as the fence has been com pleted, and in thecombinationand arran ement of the parts to operate automatica ly inunison with predetermined regular sequence and in the construction ofvarious details, as hereinafter described, shown in the accompanyingdrawings, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

- Inthe accompanying drawings, Figurel is an elevation of the completemachine from the end into which the running-wires are fed,

showing the detail construction of the dies Fig. 5 is a plan andstaple-feeding device. view of a portion of the lower or movable dieforoperating the various reciprocating por- 1 bar, showing theoppositely--reciprocating dies which bend the staples over the runningwires andtheir attachments. Fig. 6 is a side elevation thereof, showing theoperatingbars for these dies. Fig. 7 is a transverse view of the lowerdie-bar and stay-wire guides thereon. Fig. 8 is an end elevation'of oneof the feed and crimping rolls for the linewires, showing the segmentand rack by means of which they are rotated. Fig. 9 is avlongitudinal'sectional view of the driven extremity of one of thefeed-rolls. Fig. "10 is a face view of one of the winders by means ofwhich .theends of the stay-wire are wrapped upon the outerrunning-wires. Fig. 1 1 is a" on gitudinal, section through the winder.Fi 12 is aview of one of the staples. Fig. 131s a viewshowing thecompletedclamp for the wire crossing. Fig. 14 is a View of the feed ingmechanism for the stay-wire, and Fig. is a perspective view of thefinger which feeds the staples to the-dies. I -7 5 In the figures, 1 1are side frames for the 1 machine, and .2 is 'a solid bar connectingthem rigidly at the top, upon which the upper die-blocks 3 are mounted.I i

' 4 is the main shaft upon which are mounted'the various cams whichactuate the various moving parts of the machine, all movemen ts beingderived therefrom. '5 "is the main gear upon. this shaft. j

6 is the driving-pinion, 7 its shaft, and 81a bandwheel upon the sameshaft.

9 is a band-wheel upon the main shaft.

is wound, and 11 the belt connectin them.

12 is abar upon which the lower ie-blocks 9o 13 are moun'ted. Thisbarreciprocates ver; tically between'fthe frames 1 in guides G thereinand is moved by means of thecam's 14 upon the main shaft,"which engagerollers 15 upon the bar. Upon this bar are mounted also the winders 16,which wrap the ends of the stay-wires upon the outer runningwires. Gears17 upon these winders engage racks 18, which are elevated by the cams 19on the main shaft by means of the,interven-' ing levers 20, pivoted at21 on the bar 22,- connecting the side frames 1. provided with a stem,which is jointed at 23 to permit free movement.

The running-wires R are fedover pulleys 2.4 on a shaft at the base ofthe machine 1O isthe reel upon whichthe finished fence v I Each rack istension to keep the Wires taut, and the crimping and feeding rollers areconstructedas follows:

Each roll is provided with two heads 30, connecting which at regularintervals are placed the cylinders 31, which may be made of gas-pipe orsteel tubing. The cylinders in one roll intermesh with the cylinders inthe other roll and as the fence is pressed be tween them crimp therunning-wires as well as exert a strong pull upon the fence.

When thecylinders are tubes, they can be secured in any suitable mannerto the heads, as by means of the cast annular flanges 32 upon the heads,which are inserted in the tubes. (See Fig. 9.) Each head is providedwith the spur-gear 33 upon its edge, which gears engage so that therolls shall move in unison.

The rolls are rotated by means of the segment 34, mounted freely uponthe shaft 35 of the lower roll and provided with the spring pressed pin36, which engages the pin hole 37 when moved in one direction, but ispermitted to slide and escape from the'hole when moved in the otherdirection by means of the incline 38. A pawl 39 and ratchet 40 upon thereel-shaft 41 prevent the fence from pulling back, whatever the tensionmay be.

The segment 34 is provided with a segmental gear 42 and is oscillated bymeans of the rack 43, which rests upon a roller 44 to support it incontact with the segment. The rack is pivotally connected at 45'with therock-arm 46, mounted upon a shaft 47 in the side frames. A cam 48 uponthe main shaft moves the rack forward to rotate the rolls, and a spring49 returns thearm. The arm is slotted at 50 to give adjustment to thethrow of the rack, so as to afford change of 'movement to accommodatethe spacing of the stay-wires, and a nut 51 upon the pivotpin secures itwhere required.

The bearing of the lower roll is made adjustable by means of theset-screws 52, so that the bearing can be set up as closely as isnecessary.

The stay-wire S is fed into the machine under the running-wires by meansof the grooved rollers 53 and 54, having first passed through a set ofstraighteners 55.

The lower roller is seen in the drawings to be the driving-roller, andthe rollers are geared together at 56, so as to move in exact unison. Amiter-wheel 57 on the shaft 58 of the lower roll is driven by means ofthe mitergear 59 on a shaft 60 at right angles to the roller-shaft, anda spur-gear P on this shaft is engaged by the rack 61, which isvertically reciprocated by means of the cam 62 upon the main shaft andthe arm 63, pivoted upon the frame. The rack is jointed at 64 to givefreedom of movement and moves through a guide 65.

After entering the machine the stay-wire is fed across the dies underthe running-wires, through grooves prepared for it in the upper surfaceof the dies, and through guides which insure its entering the diescorrectly and is then cut off by means of the cutters 66 and 67, oneupon the upper and one upon the lower die-bar. As soon as the wires arein position, as seen in Fig. 4, the staples are fed to the dies by means of grooved conduit-s 68, in which they slide and straddle over therunning-wires. A slight rise 69 in the bottom of the conduit stops themuntil the vibrating fingers 70 engage them and carry them forward untiltheir forward ends pass under the stay-wire, and an upward curve 71 inthe lower die in continuation of the groove 72 in the top of the dieelevates the free ends of the staple, so that they stand above therunning-wire ready to be wrapped thereover. As the lower dies ascend theupper die 73 comes first into contact with loop 74 of the staple andrigidly holds it in )osition. A spring a permits this die to rise artherwhile still retaining hold upon the staple. At this point it isnecessary that the vertically-elevated ends of the staple should be bentinward from either side over the running-wire. Thisoperation isaccomplishedv by means of the horizontally-moving dies 75 and 76, whichare secured to the bars 78 and 79, which move in grooves in thedie-blocks and which pass one another, as seen in Fig. 5, the ends ofthe staples being bent on different planes, so that they can be bentover the running-wire without interfering. The bars 78 and 79 arereciprocated in opposite directions by means of the cam 80 upon the mainshaft, which is wider at 81 than elsewhere, both sides being alike. Thelevers 82 and 83, pivoted at 84 upon the lower die-bar, engage thesliding bars 78 and 79 and crossing at a common pivotal part engagedifferent sides of the cam 80, so that they move in opposite directions,while a slot 85 in the outer bar permits the pin 86, attached to thelever 83, to enter the inner bar. As soon as the ends of the stapleshave been bent horizontally over the running-wires it is necessary tofurther wrap them vertically downward. Hence as the lower dies rise thestaple comes into contact with the upper stationary die 87, whichcompletes the operation, and the staple is firmly attached to bothwires, forming a oint, as seen in Fig. 13.

The guides G, afiixed to the lower bar, are seen to be provided withlongitudinal openings 89, through which the stay-wire is fed, and assoon as the staples are attached to the .wire' crossings the lowerdie-bar drops, and the upper portions of the guides being hinged I at 90they lift up and the wires .come out without difiiculty. Springs 91return them.

The finger 70, which feeds the staples to the dies, is oscillatedby'means of the slotted arm 100 upon the common shaft 101and a 1 pin 102in an arm 103', attached to the upper bar 2.

It will be seen thatwhenthe lowerv bar 12' descends the slotted arm willbe drawn upward at its outer end, thus moving the finger 70 forward andcarrying the staplewith it,

on said bars between which the running and stay wires are located, diesin saidblocks adapted to compress said staples about the wire crossings,means for operating the lower die-bar and dies, and a feed and crimpingdevice for the running-wires consisting of stay wires cross providedwith. a groove havrolls between which the completed fence passes, eachroll comprising a head at either end and ,spacedfcylinders, thecylinders of one roll engaging between the cylinders of the other roll,and means for operating the rolls, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for attaching a sta le such as described to the wirecrossings o a wire fence, the combination with a stationary upper barand vertically-movable lower'bar, of die-blocks on said bars, betweenwhich the running and stay wires are located, a recess in each lowerdie-block having an upwardlycurved extremity in which the staple rests,the loop of the staple resting upon the running-wire, a compressibleupper die adapted to engage said loop, horizontally-moving dies to bendthe staple extremities over the running-Wire, and a fixed upper dieadapted to press the bent-over staple extremities down over therunning-wire, substantially as described.

3. In dies for the purpose described, a movable lower die over which therunning and ing an upwardly-turned extremity in which the staple rests,the loop of said staple resting I upon the running-wire, a compressibleupper die adapted to engage and hold firmly the said loop upon therunning-wire, a horizontally-moving die upon either side of said stapleadapted to bend the staple-extremities over the running-wire, an upperfixed die adapted to further bend the staple extremities about therunning-wire, and means for moving said horizontally-moving dies toengage the staple extremities from. opposite sides, before the action ofthe fixed upper die, substantially as described.

4:. In a machine for making wire fence of the character described, thecombination with a main shaft, and frame of stationary and movabledie-bars, die-blocks on said bars between which the running and staywires pass, grooves on the upper surface of the staples abovetherunning-wires, the loops of the staples resting upon the running-wires,

spring-pressed dies upon the upper die-blocks adapted to engage saidloops and hold the staples firmly upon the running-wires, hor1-'zontally-moving dies adapted to bend the elevated extremities of thestaples over the running-wires, fixed dies in the upper dieblocksadapted to vertically compress, the staple extremities about theline-wires, horizontally-moving bars in the lower die-blocks to whichthe horizontally-moving dies are seconsisting of a movable die providedwith a groove in its upper surface across which the wires lie, the loopof the staple resting upon the upper wire, an upturned extremity to saidgroove against which the upturned sides of the staple are supported, thesa1d staple IOO sides passing under the other wire, having their freeextremities elevated above the up-. per wire on either side thereof,oppositelymoving dies engaging said extrem1t1es to bend themhorizontally over said upper wlre, a spring-pressed die adapted toengage sa1d loop of the staple and hold it upon the upper wire, a fixeddie adapted to compress the staple extremities vertically upon the upperwire, its action following the action of the horizontally-moving dies,and means for operating said dies in sequence.

6. In a wire feeding and crimping device for a wire-fence-makingmachine, the combination with the frame, of roll-shafts mounted thereon,rolls upon said shafts, each roll comprising heads upon its shafts, andintermediate connecting-cylinders, the cylinders of one rollintermeshing with those of the other roll, gears connecting the rollsand means for operating-the rolls consisting of a shaft in the machine,a cam on said shaft, a rock-arm, a rack pivoted to said rock-arm at oneend, a

geared segment on one of the roll-shafts engaging said rack, and aratchet device for v for a wire-fence-making machine, the combi' nationwith the frame of the machine, of rollshafts and rolls mounted thereon,each roll comprising heads upon the shafts and intermediate spacedcylinders, gears connecting said rolls, and means for rotating saidrolls at predetermined intervals consisting of a gearsegment on one ofthe roll-shafts having a projection, a series of holes annularlyarranged on the gear on said roll, a spring-pin in said projectionadapted to engage said holes when the arm is moving in one direc tionbut not to engage in the other direction, a rack engaging said gearedsegment, a support for the outer end thereof, and means forreciprocating said rack consisting of a rockarm on the frame to whichsaid rack is adjustably pivoted at one end, a main shaft 011 the frame,and a cam on said shaft engaging said rock-arm, substantially asdescribed.

8. In a staple-feed device for a wire-fencemaking machine, thecombination with a stationary die-bar and a movable die-bar, of agrooved lower die upon which the wires cross, an inclined groovedconduit for the staples through which the staple is fed so as to liewith its loop upon the upper wire and its free ends under the lowerwire, and an oscillating finger mounted upon a transverse shaft passingthrough said die underneath the groove,

a slot through which said finger passes to engage the said loop, andmeans for oscillating said finger to feed the staple as the lower diedescends, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand this 9th day of July, 1904.

JONATHAN HARRIS. Witnesses:

WM. M. MONROE,

GEO. S. COLE.

